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If she said that, then not only is her hearing now failing her, but her eyesight is as well. She looks like a 30-something gorgeous woman in those photos with beautiful, wild, curly hair.

What's that you drew?
I did it this morning with my daughter, Tash, who's 3. We got this new rainbow pack of watercolors that they were pushing as the big toy at Toys R Us. We were suckers, and bought it. We try to let her express herself with art every day—but she gets to pick what she wants to do. Music, Mommy, marriage: it's full-time.

Are you in the drawing?
No. I'm in here only as a mom. I was never good at art. I always expressed myself sonically, since I was tiny.

What was your nickname when you were in school?
"Ellen the Watermelon." I was always quite small, so it wasn't that I was rolling down the hall like a watermelon. Growing up, in the summers in North Carolina, we had no air-conditioning. There's something about a 100-degree summer day and watermelon. I could eat a big one all by myself.

Tell us about the worst haircut you've ever had.
The most dramatic one was after From the Choirgirl Hotel, in 1998. It was just too short, because I have these really big ears, like Dumbo [pulls back hair].

Good Lord, those are huge ears!
They are. [Laughs] I need a landing strip. That was another nickname, when I was 9: Dumbo.

Is your musical ability due to your extremely oversized ears?
I don't know. But it's a rough tradeoff.

What personal habit do you have that annoys other people?
I leave half-drunk bottles of water all over the house—20 of 'em. From the piano room to the office. The truth is, I have this fear that somebody's trying to poison me [laughs]. I have visions in my head of somebody opening up a ring and pouring out the poison, like in the old days. It's an obsession. The husband and I had a chat about it. He said, "You know, nobody's gonna poison you." They've assured me they're not going to kill me, because I'm a good boss.

What's your astrological sign?
I'm a Leo Virgo. My moon is in Libra with Sag rising. It translates into desperately trying to find balance wandering the globe as a mother-fucking ant-fucker.

What's an ant-fucker?
It's an oxymoron. Virgos are meticulous, but Leos are lionesses. Leos have no problem pulling down the wildebeest: "OK, how many people need to be fed? Do you want sauce on the side?"

Between that and the ears, we're very scared. How would you characterize your taste in sex?
It changed after I had therapy [laughs]. I was drawn to a dark-prince archetype, maybe Dionysian. Then I realized that the Luciferian essence isn't about having power over somebody, and I had access to my own darkness. I became drawn to men who didn't need to belittle or withhold or be voyeurs. They participate, which means their hearts are open, and they're vulnerable too.

What ethnic stereotype do you live up to?
My father's people are Scottish and Irish, and my mother's people are Eastern Cherokee and Irish. My great-grandmother survived the Trail of Tears, hid in the Smokey Mountains, then worked on a plantation, and she kept a tomahawk in her apron. Always. My mother used to say, "Keep your tomahawk in your apron." When I'm going to do deals, I remember that because of my hot-blooded side. And the Irish like to have a squabble, too.

It's her worst album for Atlantic. Even SLG had New Age, and nothing on Venus is as good as that.

Bliss, Suede, Spring Haze and Lust are my favorites, and the only songs that I actually feel and emotional connection with. Concertina and Glory of the 80s are bubblegum, which is ok too. Sometimes.

I agree that this is the worst Atlantic era album, and actually think this is her 2nd worst album overall (above only ADP) and it's mainly because I don't feel an emotional connection to most of the tracks. I connect to Lust, the "little sister" part of Suede, the "is there room in your heart..." part from Datura, Spring Haze, and 1000 Oceans. This is the only album where it seems like Tori is a little disconnected from the songs and it feels like her least personal work (even including SLG). Juarez is amazing in solo form, but ruined by the album's production. TVAB isn't a bad album, but it hasn't aged as well as the others and it feels like there's no heart even if it's very interesting and complex on a lyrical and technical level.

With regards to her look in this period, I think the haircut looks good in these photos but it wasn't great looking during the tour. I think a wig or extensions to the length in the first picture would work well now though and look more natural than the ADP/AATS looks.

This is the only album where it seems like Tori is a little disconnected from the songs and it feels like her least personal work (even including SLG). Juarez is amazing in solo form, but ruined by the album's production. TVAB isn't a bad album, but it hasn't aged as well as the others and it feels like there's no heart even if it's very interesting and complex on a lyrical and technical level.

This is how I have always secretly felt about TVAB. It's got some great songs, but it's never touched me in the way the first four records did. The production on several of the songs sounds kind of tinny and sibilant to my ears. (Especially Concertina. I like Concertina but not the way it sounds.) With a couple of exceptions, the songs feel less personal and they're harder for me to connect to. To me, the record has always felt like it was a rush job, which puzzled me when the record came out but after reading PbP makes perfect sense, with all the record company contract stuff that was going on then.

I've never been all that enamored of the live disc, either. I think that choosing highlights from various shows was a really good choice for her first live record, but personally I prefer the flow of a whole live show, flaws and all.

That being said: Juarez. That song never fails to send chills down my spine. It's definitely one of my top ten from her whole catalog.

I agree that this is the worst Atlantic era album, and actually think this is her 2nd worst album overall (above only ADP) and it's mainly because I don't feel an emotional connection to most of the tracks. I connect to Lust, the "little sister" part of Suede, the "is there room in your heart..." part from Datura, Spring Haze, and 1000 Oceans. This is the only album where it seems like Tori is a little disconnected from the songs and it feels like her least personal work (even including SLG). Juarez is amazing in solo form, but ruined by the album's production. TVAB isn't a bad album, but it hasn't aged as well as the others and it feels like there's no heart even if it's very interesting and complex on a lyrical and technical level.

wow, i totally disagree. so much of this album feels so raw and instinctual and close to her heart, she sounds so present. i love the production on Juarez, it totally evokes the desert, how her vocals almost sound like they're sticking together with the effect on them. i love the fact that she recorded them in such a short span of time, it seemed like she really let her guard down and allowed herself to experiment and be in the moment.

i always loved this quote from her about it:

“Everything seems to be moving so fast. Tragedies seem to be moving so fast; almost before we are able to ingest one, another one happens. Information travels so fast - but I don’t know if the heart adjusts that fast… I’ve been around the world seven times, and I’m always trying to go behind the heart, to the place where the unconscious lives. I don’t think it lives in the brain; I think it’s behind the heart… I can literally see Venus circling around the girl who’s singing, circling around her heart, seeing different perspectives.”[

I might be alone, but I think studio Juarez is flawless. I feel it absolutely captures the desolate, heartless sound she was trying to capture to illustrate the story.

You're definitely not alone. I love both this one and the solo one (video posted on first page.) I think Venus is beautifully cold and icy and you're right, "Juarez" definitely feels desolate and heartless and cold and bereft and dark and beautiful.

I understand where people are coming from when they say it sounds 'emotionless' but I don't necessarily agree. I enjoy the synths and electronics used here and think they suit the songs well.

Yeah, I really don't think it's emotionless; I think what she's trying to convey in the studio version is far different from what she's trying to convey in the solo live version. The live band performances from 1999 were my favorite though. I love how good the "no angel came for my little girl" improv at the end sounded with the band. Caton was really beneficial for Juarez too, I think.

Venus was the first time I felt that she was going for sound more than she was going for emotion, and I really did not like that aspect of it. I still find it cold and distant. It's very cerebral. It doesn't have the emotional wallop of her other records. I also saw what I consider the first glimpses of Fori. Glory of the 80's is the first real Fori song IMO - it's unbelievably trite and sounds like someone who is trying too hard to be cool and edgy.

I loved TVAB from the start. I actually saw her live for the first time that tour which was intense for me after 6 years of adoring her work. It was a graduation present to myself (along with seeing Rammstein that year). Juarez, Concertina, Suede, Josephine, Datura, Spring Haze are ! I didn't get into 1000 Oceans until I saw the video which added some depth for me. All in all one of my fave albums!